Secretary of State Antony Brinken on Sunday refused to say whether China’s President Xi Jinping is a dictator and received no backlash from CNN’s Dana Bash at the end of the interview.

Mr. Blinken visited a communist country in mid-June and made important concessions to the CCP, but failed to sign a military communications agreement. Blinken also attended, stressing that the Biden administration does not seek confrontation with Beijing.

Mr. Biden called practice On Tuesday night, he provoked a public outcry by calling China a “dictator” and labeling it a country in “real economic trouble.”

“I have a question about China. You just went to Beijing last week. China was so furious that they formally and diplomatically reprimanded the US ambassador,” Bash said. “Was it wrong for the president to call Xi Jinping a dictator?” (Related: Mr. Blinken says spy balloons are water under bridges).

“Danna, when it comes to China, it’s clear that we do and say things that China doesn’t like. They will also do and say things that we don’t like. You’d hear a lot of that if you look at what they’ve been saying about, but the purpose of this presidential-ordered visit was to bring a little more stability to the relationship, to prove it. In addition, we are committed to managing it responsibly, which is truly an obligation for us and what countries around the world expect, and we are directly committed to our differences. It’s no secret about these differences and concerns we have about democracy, human rights, and some of the actions China is taking around the world. Being able to have a stronger, more sustained line of communication means that we can discuss these differences directly.”

“Do you think Xi Jinping is a dictator?” Bash asked.

“The president speaks clearly and frankly.

Mr. Bash then ended the interview without arguing against his answer.